Tennis
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Szlia
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I would not hold my breath. If he is playing well one day, that only means he will injure himself the next. There is a reason why Monfils only has a limited number of minor titles to show for a 10+ year career and his abilities.
I suspect 2015 will be a strange year for tennis. With Federer a tad up and down, Murray still not at his best, Nadal struggling with health, results and confidence, it feels the question this year will be: who can beat Djokovic? There is a number of tough competitors outside the not-so-big four, but it feels like they are not quite there yet.
I mean in 2014, Djokovic lost 8 matches, including 3 to Federer and 1 to Nadal. Another two matches were lost to top 10 players that were on fire (Wawrinka at the AO and Nishikori at the USO) and the last two were in post WB win blues (Robredo in Canada, Tsonga - who won the title that week, in Cinci). That's not a lot.
In 2015, I don't see Murray or Nadal beating Djokovic any time soon and it seems unlikely for Federer to beat him in a best of 5 sets match so yeah... who will beat Djokovic? (not Darcis today apparently...).
I suspect 2015 will be a strange year for tennis. With Federer a tad up and down, Murray still not at his best, Nadal struggling with health, results and confidence, it feels the question this year will be: who can beat Djokovic? There is a number of tough competitors outside the not-so-big four, but it feels like they are not quite there yet.
I mean in 2014, Djokovic lost 8 matches, including 3 to Federer and 1 to Nadal. Another two matches were lost to top 10 players that were on fire (Wawrinka at the AO and Nishikori at the USO) and the last two were in post WB win blues (Robredo in Canada, Tsonga - who won the title that week, in Cinci). That's not a lot.
In 2015, I don't see Murray or Nadal beating Djokovic any time soon and it seems unlikely for Federer to beat him in a best of 5 sets match so yeah... who will beat Djokovic? (not Darcis today apparently...).
Szlia
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So yeah... French Open!
During the clay court season, Nadal did not win a title, losing in Monte Carlo to Djokovic 3 and 3, losing to Fognini in two close sets in the 2nd round of Barcelona, getting obliterated by Murray in the final of Madrid and only managing to keep things close during a set against Wawrinka in Rome. End result: the confidence is not really there and the ranking dropped to 7. Result of that: Djokovic (who won every event he entered even if he had some difficult matches), Murray (who won every event he entered except Rome where he withdrew because he was too tired(!)) and Nadal are in the same half of the draw!
Federer is in the bottom half and really played some decent tennis during the clay court season, only falling to an inspired Monfils on the slow courts of Monte Carlo, an inspired Kyrgios in Madrid who managed to win two breakers out of three (including a 14-12 in the third set!) and a very very solid Djokovic in the final of Rome.
While all eyes are on the top half that also includes the likes of Ferrer, Dimitrov, Gasquet or Isner, the bottom half has some tough nuts to crack with Berdych (playing consistently very well since the start of the year), Nishikori (who confirmed this season how dangerous he can be on clay), Wawrinka (very up and down this season, but still dangerous), but also Tsonga (injuries held him back considerably in 2015 though), Fognini or Monfils (a potentially tricky 4th round for Federer - Monfils won their previous two meetings, both on clay).
NB: Raonic is not playing the event.
The first day of the Open was Sunday, with some matches from the bottom half and favorites won easily (including Federer, Wawrinka and Nishikori, all playing well), except Karlovic (lost in straight sets to Baghdatis) and Garcia Lopez (lost in 5 sets to in form american Johnson).
The first round will go on during Monday and Tuesday. That will include an intriguing Dimitrov vs Sock match and the opening of Djokovic's campaign. It will be against Nieminen (veteran lefty retriever/counter-puncher, should only be a threat if Djokovic is off his game).
During the clay court season, Nadal did not win a title, losing in Monte Carlo to Djokovic 3 and 3, losing to Fognini in two close sets in the 2nd round of Barcelona, getting obliterated by Murray in the final of Madrid and only managing to keep things close during a set against Wawrinka in Rome. End result: the confidence is not really there and the ranking dropped to 7. Result of that: Djokovic (who won every event he entered even if he had some difficult matches), Murray (who won every event he entered except Rome where he withdrew because he was too tired(!)) and Nadal are in the same half of the draw!
Federer is in the bottom half and really played some decent tennis during the clay court season, only falling to an inspired Monfils on the slow courts of Monte Carlo, an inspired Kyrgios in Madrid who managed to win two breakers out of three (including a 14-12 in the third set!) and a very very solid Djokovic in the final of Rome.
While all eyes are on the top half that also includes the likes of Ferrer, Dimitrov, Gasquet or Isner, the bottom half has some tough nuts to crack with Berdych (playing consistently very well since the start of the year), Nishikori (who confirmed this season how dangerous he can be on clay), Wawrinka (very up and down this season, but still dangerous), but also Tsonga (injuries held him back considerably in 2015 though), Fognini or Monfils (a potentially tricky 4th round for Federer - Monfils won their previous two meetings, both on clay).
NB: Raonic is not playing the event.
The first day of the Open was Sunday, with some matches from the bottom half and favorites won easily (including Federer, Wawrinka and Nishikori, all playing well), except Karlovic (lost in straight sets to Baghdatis) and Garcia Lopez (lost in 5 sets to in form american Johnson).
The first round will go on during Monday and Tuesday. That will include an intriguing Dimitrov vs Sock match and the opening of Djokovic's campaign. It will be against Nieminen (veteran lefty retriever/counter-puncher, should only be a threat if Djokovic is off his game).
Szlia, your write-ups are great, especially for those of us who only peripherally care about this sport when the big tournaments roll around. Kudos man. You are the Dan Carlin of written tennis commentary.
Szlia
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Thank you for your kind words... but now I am a bit embarrassed to say I did not see much tennis today!
Murray played a quality match against argentinian lucky loser Arguello (I did not find his body language very reassuring, but he confessed being a bit nervous during the match and tad bothered by the windy conditions at the start), Berdych cruised past japanese qualifier Nishioka (NB: he is 19 and ranked just outside the top 100 so we should get to see him play in the near future) and Fognini made light work of Ito (good early signs for the italian who has a tendency to find himself in strenuous battles by no fault other than his own and going deep in a slam is made easier by saving energy during the early rounds).
Also among the players to watch, Monfils won in four sets in a strange topsy turvy match against countryman Roger-Vasselin. He seemed in good health, so that's something.
On the seedicide watch, Lopez (11th seed!) lost in straight set to Gabashvili, but the atypical spaniard is probably relieved to end this clay court season and head to the grass. The other casualty of the day is 30th seed Mannarino. The frenchman produced, in his own words, an anti-clutch performance and lost in straight sets to veteran Melzer, including two tie-breakers. It should be noted that some french players play a lot better on home soil in front of their supporters, while some are totally paralyzed by it. Historical examples are plenty (starting with Murray's coach Mauresmo), but yesterday a good young french player on the WTA, Caroline Garcia, said after her first round loss that playing on the Chatrier (Roland Garros' gigantic main court) proved impossible for her as she could not control her nerves, deal with the burden of expectation, nor feel comfortable on the very particular dimensions of this court (there is a LOT of space behind the line, so the walls are very far from the court).
Tomorrow will still be dedicated to the remaining 1st round matches, but we already know all the 2nd round matches of the bottom of the draw (these will be played Wednesday). Federer will play spanish double specialist Granollers, Berdych will play his buddy and Davis Cup partner Stepanek (it could be an awkward match as Stepanek probably knows enough about Berdych and his game to know how to bother him), Nishikori will face clay court specialist Bellucci (a mini Nadal with a big lift on his lefty forehand), Fognini will play french head case Paire (a good mental test for the italian!), Monfils will play the short but resilient argentinian Schwartzman and, last but not least in my short list, the always entertaining Gulbis (serve & wtf) will face the always entertaining Mahut (serve & volley).
Murray played a quality match against argentinian lucky loser Arguello (I did not find his body language very reassuring, but he confessed being a bit nervous during the match and tad bothered by the windy conditions at the start), Berdych cruised past japanese qualifier Nishioka (NB: he is 19 and ranked just outside the top 100 so we should get to see him play in the near future) and Fognini made light work of Ito (good early signs for the italian who has a tendency to find himself in strenuous battles by no fault other than his own and going deep in a slam is made easier by saving energy during the early rounds).
Also among the players to watch, Monfils won in four sets in a strange topsy turvy match against countryman Roger-Vasselin. He seemed in good health, so that's something.
On the seedicide watch, Lopez (11th seed!) lost in straight set to Gabashvili, but the atypical spaniard is probably relieved to end this clay court season and head to the grass. The other casualty of the day is 30th seed Mannarino. The frenchman produced, in his own words, an anti-clutch performance and lost in straight sets to veteran Melzer, including two tie-breakers. It should be noted that some french players play a lot better on home soil in front of their supporters, while some are totally paralyzed by it. Historical examples are plenty (starting with Murray's coach Mauresmo), but yesterday a good young french player on the WTA, Caroline Garcia, said after her first round loss that playing on the Chatrier (Roland Garros' gigantic main court) proved impossible for her as she could not control her nerves, deal with the burden of expectation, nor feel comfortable on the very particular dimensions of this court (there is a LOT of space behind the line, so the walls are very far from the court).
Tomorrow will still be dedicated to the remaining 1st round matches, but we already know all the 2nd round matches of the bottom of the draw (these will be played Wednesday). Federer will play spanish double specialist Granollers, Berdych will play his buddy and Davis Cup partner Stepanek (it could be an awkward match as Stepanek probably knows enough about Berdych and his game to know how to bother him), Nishikori will face clay court specialist Bellucci (a mini Nadal with a big lift on his lefty forehand), Fognini will play french head case Paire (a good mental test for the italian!), Monfils will play the short but resilient argentinian Schwartzman and, last but not least in my short list, the always entertaining Gulbis (serve & wtf) will face the always entertaining Mahut (serve & volley).
Szlia
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Day 3 is over, the first round is completed! Well... almost: The Lorenzi vs Muller match got adjourned so Djokovic does not know who his 2nd round opponent will be.
Nadal who in straight sets against french wild card Halys as did Djokovic against veteran Nieminen. The finn, probably playing one of his last Roland Garros, was happy to be there and competed extremely well. The quality of his return of serve, his will to be the aggressor and a forehand that is remarkably difficult to read even allowed him to dominate Djokovic during a good chunk of the 2nd set. As expected though, Nieminen tensed up a tad when Djokovic willed the errors away and rallied from 5-2 down to win the 2nd set 7-5!
The upset of the day happened in a match I did not see: in form american Jack Sock ousted the 10th seed Dimitrov. A breaker was needed in the first set and, apparently, winning it gave Sock the momentum needed to bag the next two. NB: Dimitrov was in Nadal's part of the draw, but, truth be told, a confident and aggressive Sock is probably more dangerous for Nadal than Dimitrov.
We know now (almost) all the 2nd round matches of the top half of the draw. Matches that stand out in my book are a curious battle of the australian youngster in Tomic vs Kokkinakis to see who will defy Djokovic (or Muller or Lorenzi, but most likely Djokovic) a first good test for Nadal against Almagro (they met recently in Barcelona and Nadal won with a very favorable scoreline that hides the number of opportunities Almagro got and did not convert). Murray will need to play a serious match to overcome in-form portuguese dirt-baller Sousa (not to be confused with the brazilian Souza). On the american front, Isner will play the aggressive but error-prone frenchman Chardy, that match should really about who manages his own game better in order to not give opportunities to the opponent.
Nadal who in straight sets against french wild card Halys as did Djokovic against veteran Nieminen. The finn, probably playing one of his last Roland Garros, was happy to be there and competed extremely well. The quality of his return of serve, his will to be the aggressor and a forehand that is remarkably difficult to read even allowed him to dominate Djokovic during a good chunk of the 2nd set. As expected though, Nieminen tensed up a tad when Djokovic willed the errors away and rallied from 5-2 down to win the 2nd set 7-5!
The upset of the day happened in a match I did not see: in form american Jack Sock ousted the 10th seed Dimitrov. A breaker was needed in the first set and, apparently, winning it gave Sock the momentum needed to bag the next two. NB: Dimitrov was in Nadal's part of the draw, but, truth be told, a confident and aggressive Sock is probably more dangerous for Nadal than Dimitrov.
We know now (almost) all the 2nd round matches of the top half of the draw. Matches that stand out in my book are a curious battle of the australian youngster in Tomic vs Kokkinakis to see who will defy Djokovic (or Muller or Lorenzi, but most likely Djokovic) a first good test for Nadal against Almagro (they met recently in Barcelona and Nadal won with a very favorable scoreline that hides the number of opportunities Almagro got and did not convert). Murray will need to play a serious match to overcome in-form portuguese dirt-baller Sousa (not to be confused with the brazilian Souza). On the american front, Isner will play the aggressive but error-prone frenchman Chardy, that match should really about who manages his own game better in order to not give opportunities to the opponent.
Szlia
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Day 4: Round two of the bottom half is over... almost... the night interrupted Andujar and Kohlschreiber in the middle of the 5th set (the german is a break up in the fifth after being two sets down!).
It was a bit of a seedocalypse today. Verdasco [32] lost 10-8 in the fifth against veteran Becker. The part that must hurt Verdasco the most is that the two sets he did win in that contest (the 2nd and 3rd) were extremely one sided: 6-0 6-1! Bautista Agut[19] the resilient no-non-sense spaniard just got Rosol'ed 6-4 6-2 6-2. I must say it's pretty cool that risk taking can win over risk avoidance. While not a seed, the very competant Monaco fell in straight set to Gabashvili, the mad russian confirming after his win over Lopez[11]. Fognini [28] did not pass the Paire test, so now the frenchman is now dreaming big. And, last but not least, Gulbis[24] could not deal with Mahut's old school attacking style.
While Kohlschreiber[22] is not done just yet, it looks like he should be ok with his 4-2 lead in the fifth. Monfils also felt the wind of the boulder (to use a french saying) as it took him 5 sets to get the better of Schwartzman. Typically the type of matches you want to avoid if you hope to go deep in the tournament!
Things were a lot smoother for the top dogs. Federer won in straight sets against Granollers with just a little scare in the 2nd set, Wawrinka blinked at the end of the third set and, as a result, needed a fourth to close Lajovic, Nishikori dealt with Bellucci cleanly and Berdych just lost the one tie break to Davis Cup buddy Stepanek. It should also be mentioned that, while he kinda flew under the radar because of a start of the year plagued with injuries, Tsonga played two very good matches, dropping only 11 games in 6 sets!
The third round should be the first clash of the seeds, but in the bottom half that will be the case in at most two of the eight matches. Let's go down the draw:
NISHIKORI vs BECKER: the veteran german played two five sets matches to reach this stage. I suspect he will have a much shorter match on Friday!
ROSOL vs GABASHVILI: I hope I'll get to see some of it because if both play well at the same time that should be great. With Rosol crazy shot making and Gabashvili coked-up fighting spirit, there should not be a dull moment!
TSONGA vs ????: It should be mentioned that even if Kohlschreiber wins tomorrow after two games, it still something that will cost him a lot of energy, because you know he will not sleep well tonight.
BERDYCH vs PAIRE: On paper, Paire has the arsenal to mix things up and make things uncomfortable for Berdych, but I expect a business-like performance from the czech and something more chaotic from the frenchman, leading to his demise.
WAWRINKA vs JOHNSON: A stern test for the swiss, because Johnson is really in fine form and just beat two quality opponents in Garcia-Lopez and Stakhovsky.
SIMON vs MAHUT: The ultimate french defender against the ultimate french attacker... the fact that they know each other well might affect the quality of the match, but if it does not... what a brilliant opposition in styles!
MONFILS vs CUEVAS: Cuevas is in good form and played a very good clay court season, so Monfils would be well inspired to steer a tight ship, because Cuevas will compete hard, so it has all the making of an upset or another marathon match.
FEDERER vs DZUMHUR: I don't remember seeing the man from Bosnia-Herzegovina play. He benefited from the retirement of Youzhny in the first round, but then beat Baghdatis in four sets, so he must be doing something right!
It was a bit of a seedocalypse today. Verdasco [32] lost 10-8 in the fifth against veteran Becker. The part that must hurt Verdasco the most is that the two sets he did win in that contest (the 2nd and 3rd) were extremely one sided: 6-0 6-1! Bautista Agut[19] the resilient no-non-sense spaniard just got Rosol'ed 6-4 6-2 6-2. I must say it's pretty cool that risk taking can win over risk avoidance. While not a seed, the very competant Monaco fell in straight set to Gabashvili, the mad russian confirming after his win over Lopez[11]. Fognini [28] did not pass the Paire test, so now the frenchman is now dreaming big. And, last but not least, Gulbis[24] could not deal with Mahut's old school attacking style.
While Kohlschreiber[22] is not done just yet, it looks like he should be ok with his 4-2 lead in the fifth. Monfils also felt the wind of the boulder (to use a french saying) as it took him 5 sets to get the better of Schwartzman. Typically the type of matches you want to avoid if you hope to go deep in the tournament!
Things were a lot smoother for the top dogs. Federer won in straight sets against Granollers with just a little scare in the 2nd set, Wawrinka blinked at the end of the third set and, as a result, needed a fourth to close Lajovic, Nishikori dealt with Bellucci cleanly and Berdych just lost the one tie break to Davis Cup buddy Stepanek. It should also be mentioned that, while he kinda flew under the radar because of a start of the year plagued with injuries, Tsonga played two very good matches, dropping only 11 games in 6 sets!
The third round should be the first clash of the seeds, but in the bottom half that will be the case in at most two of the eight matches. Let's go down the draw:
NISHIKORI vs BECKER: the veteran german played two five sets matches to reach this stage. I suspect he will have a much shorter match on Friday!
ROSOL vs GABASHVILI: I hope I'll get to see some of it because if both play well at the same time that should be great. With Rosol crazy shot making and Gabashvili coked-up fighting spirit, there should not be a dull moment!
TSONGA vs ????: It should be mentioned that even if Kohlschreiber wins tomorrow after two games, it still something that will cost him a lot of energy, because you know he will not sleep well tonight.
BERDYCH vs PAIRE: On paper, Paire has the arsenal to mix things up and make things uncomfortable for Berdych, but I expect a business-like performance from the czech and something more chaotic from the frenchman, leading to his demise.
WAWRINKA vs JOHNSON: A stern test for the swiss, because Johnson is really in fine form and just beat two quality opponents in Garcia-Lopez and Stakhovsky.
SIMON vs MAHUT: The ultimate french defender against the ultimate french attacker... the fact that they know each other well might affect the quality of the match, but if it does not... what a brilliant opposition in styles!
MONFILS vs CUEVAS: Cuevas is in good form and played a very good clay court season, so Monfils would be well inspired to steer a tight ship, because Cuevas will compete hard, so it has all the making of an upset or another marathon match.
FEDERER vs DZUMHUR: I don't remember seeing the man from Bosnia-Herzegovina play. He benefited from the retirement of Youzhny in the first round, but then beat Baghdatis in four sets, so he must be doing something right!
Szlia
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Day 5: Round two of the top half is over... almost. Gasquet found himself stuck in the quagmire that is Berlocq's game (run to the ball, big shout, big lift: repeat until the opponent misses, dies of exhaustion or concede an attack opportunity. In case of attack opportunity: run to the ball, big shout, big flat slap, run to the net, win point - shout optional) so both players got sent to bed at two sets all.
Another poor day for the small seeds, as Tomic[32] lost 8-6 in the fifth to Kokkinakis after leading two sets to love, Youngster Coric outlasted veteran Robredo[18] in another five set match, Isner [16] slowly crumbled against Chardy who was the toughest mentally on this day and Troicki[31] was no match for talented italian Bolelli.
It was smooth sailing for the top dogs. Nadal played his best match in months (good length and variations with the forehand, super fast movement to run around the backhand and also pretty aggressive with said backhand when need be), Djokovic controlled the attacking tennis of Muller with ease, Murray dropped the one set to Sousa as he just got a tad too passive after winning the first set, but he corrected himself in the third and fourth and Ferrer demolished spaniard journeyman Gimeno-Traver.
So, 3rd round:
DJOKOVIC vs KOKKINAKIS: While Muller and Kokkinakis are dangerous opponents on paper, they both played 5 sets to win the honor of playing the World N?1. I suspect that did hinder Muller's chances as it will Kokkinakis'
ANDERSON vs ???: The south african played two good matches, but his problem always had been playing good matches against tough opponents.
SOCK vs CORIC: Battle of the youngsters! Opposition in styles too as Sock is an offensive baseline liner while Coric is a runner.
NADAL vs KUZNETSOV: I don't remember seeing the rushian play, but he is supposed to be good. Good enough to bother Nadal? Probably not.
MURRAY vs KYRGIOS: The australian youngster had a walkover in the previous round, which can't hurt, because this one could turn into an epic of sorts.
GOFFIN vs CHARDY: The punch of the frenchman vs the counter-punch of the belgian. If Chardy plays as focused a match as against Isner, he will be tough to beat.
CILIC vs MAYER: The two seeds reached this stage with relative ease, but Mayer might a little more battle hardened as he beat the good youngster Vesely and the huge game of Janowicz.
FERRER vs BOLELLI: That good be a good one, because the italian plays a very nice brand of tennis and has been in fine form since his return from a lengthy injury last year (I notably saw him play a very good match against Federer in Davis Cup last year).
Another poor day for the small seeds, as Tomic[32] lost 8-6 in the fifth to Kokkinakis after leading two sets to love, Youngster Coric outlasted veteran Robredo[18] in another five set match, Isner [16] slowly crumbled against Chardy who was the toughest mentally on this day and Troicki[31] was no match for talented italian Bolelli.
It was smooth sailing for the top dogs. Nadal played his best match in months (good length and variations with the forehand, super fast movement to run around the backhand and also pretty aggressive with said backhand when need be), Djokovic controlled the attacking tennis of Muller with ease, Murray dropped the one set to Sousa as he just got a tad too passive after winning the first set, but he corrected himself in the third and fourth and Ferrer demolished spaniard journeyman Gimeno-Traver.
So, 3rd round:
DJOKOVIC vs KOKKINAKIS: While Muller and Kokkinakis are dangerous opponents on paper, they both played 5 sets to win the honor of playing the World N?1. I suspect that did hinder Muller's chances as it will Kokkinakis'
ANDERSON vs ???: The south african played two good matches, but his problem always had been playing good matches against tough opponents.
SOCK vs CORIC: Battle of the youngsters! Opposition in styles too as Sock is an offensive baseline liner while Coric is a runner.
NADAL vs KUZNETSOV: I don't remember seeing the rushian play, but he is supposed to be good. Good enough to bother Nadal? Probably not.
MURRAY vs KYRGIOS: The australian youngster had a walkover in the previous round, which can't hurt, because this one could turn into an epic of sorts.
GOFFIN vs CHARDY: The punch of the frenchman vs the counter-punch of the belgian. If Chardy plays as focused a match as against Isner, he will be tough to beat.
CILIC vs MAYER: The two seeds reached this stage with relative ease, but Mayer might a little more battle hardened as he beat the good youngster Vesely and the huge game of Janowicz.
FERRER vs BOLELLI: That good be a good one, because the italian plays a very nice brand of tennis and has been in fine form since his return from a lengthy injury last year (I notably saw him play a very good match against Federer in Davis Cup last year).
Szlia
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Day 6! 3rd round of the bottom half is done! For real!
NISHIKORI vs BECKER: Becker who won his 2nd round match 10-8 in the fifth threw the towel before even stepping on the ring.
ROSOL vs GABASHVILI: Gabashvili won that in a clinical 4-4-4 that I did not see at all.
TSONGA vs ANDUJAR: In the end the spaniard that was lead 2-4 by Kohlschreiber won it 6-4 the next day. I guess the german did not sleep well! He offered a good resistance against Tsonga, but the frenchman still won in three long sets (2h30 for a straight sets victory).
BERDYCH vs PAIRE: Paire played the one good set that he won on a breaker, but the rest of the time was spent digging his own grave an unforced error at a time.
WAWRINKA vs JOHNSON: The swiss played a solid match and was extremely dominant behind his serve, forcing the american far behind his base line. Straight sets win in 90 min.
SIMON vs MAHUT: Simon started brilliantly, but then slowed down a little, allowing Mahut to express himself more, forcing two breakers and winning both! Forced at times to play long baseline rallies, Mahut competed well, but paid a heavy energetic price for it, while Simon swang more and more freely and bagged the fourth and fifth sets convincingly.
MONFILS vs CUEVAS: Two days ago I said Monfils better play a clean match or be in trouble... well... he certainly got in trouble. He even found himself two sets to one down, 4-1 down with a double break, a slight knee problem and as much intensity as a chloroformed zombie. Well helped by the french public and a Cuevas that got a serious case of butterflies when came time to close the match. End result: 14 sets played in three rounds. Usually a recipe for 2nd week disaster, but who knows with Monfils?
FEDERER vs DZUMHUR: The sub 6" bosnian proved a good player and a fast runner, but against a grumpy Federer that only played well in patches it still ended in an express 6-4 6-3 6-2 victory.
Sooooooooooo round 4 bottom half:
NISHIKORI vs GABASHVILI: The russian just beat Monaco and Rosol, two quality players, in straight sets, so he must be feeling great. Still, I fear for him that Nishikori is not of the same cloth.
BERDYCH vs TSONGA: That should be a good one because the czech has been playing well all year (currently N?3 at the race - ranking based on the 2015 results only instead of based on the past 12 month) and Tsonga scored three clean straight sets wins.
WAWRINKA vs SIMON: The spear versus the shield. Of what material though? Judging from today, it could be the iron spear against the wooden shield, but Sunday is another day.
FEDERER vs MONFILS: In front of his home crowd, on a big court and against a notorious opponent he beat on their previous two meetings, Monfils could very well play a super match. On top of that, Sunday should be cloudy and with a little rain which should slow the play condition considerably, favoring raw power and defense. How much gas will be left in the tank after three tough matches though? How will his knee feel? And, most importantly, what level of play will Federer offer on the other side of the net? Answers on Sunday.
It should be noted that of the 8 people who reached the fourth round in the bottom of the draw, 7 are in the top 16 seeds, with only the unseeded Gabashvili taking the place of grass loving Lopez. In theory, the top half should not be a lot more extravagant.
NISHIKORI vs BECKER: Becker who won his 2nd round match 10-8 in the fifth threw the towel before even stepping on the ring.
ROSOL vs GABASHVILI: Gabashvili won that in a clinical 4-4-4 that I did not see at all.
TSONGA vs ANDUJAR: In the end the spaniard that was lead 2-4 by Kohlschreiber won it 6-4 the next day. I guess the german did not sleep well! He offered a good resistance against Tsonga, but the frenchman still won in three long sets (2h30 for a straight sets victory).
BERDYCH vs PAIRE: Paire played the one good set that he won on a breaker, but the rest of the time was spent digging his own grave an unforced error at a time.
WAWRINKA vs JOHNSON: The swiss played a solid match and was extremely dominant behind his serve, forcing the american far behind his base line. Straight sets win in 90 min.
SIMON vs MAHUT: Simon started brilliantly, but then slowed down a little, allowing Mahut to express himself more, forcing two breakers and winning both! Forced at times to play long baseline rallies, Mahut competed well, but paid a heavy energetic price for it, while Simon swang more and more freely and bagged the fourth and fifth sets convincingly.
MONFILS vs CUEVAS: Two days ago I said Monfils better play a clean match or be in trouble... well... he certainly got in trouble. He even found himself two sets to one down, 4-1 down with a double break, a slight knee problem and as much intensity as a chloroformed zombie. Well helped by the french public and a Cuevas that got a serious case of butterflies when came time to close the match. End result: 14 sets played in three rounds. Usually a recipe for 2nd week disaster, but who knows with Monfils?
FEDERER vs DZUMHUR: The sub 6" bosnian proved a good player and a fast runner, but against a grumpy Federer that only played well in patches it still ended in an express 6-4 6-3 6-2 victory.
Sooooooooooo round 4 bottom half:
NISHIKORI vs GABASHVILI: The russian just beat Monaco and Rosol, two quality players, in straight sets, so he must be feeling great. Still, I fear for him that Nishikori is not of the same cloth.
BERDYCH vs TSONGA: That should be a good one because the czech has been playing well all year (currently N?3 at the race - ranking based on the 2015 results only instead of based on the past 12 month) and Tsonga scored three clean straight sets wins.
WAWRINKA vs SIMON: The spear versus the shield. Of what material though? Judging from today, it could be the iron spear against the wooden shield, but Sunday is another day.
FEDERER vs MONFILS: In front of his home crowd, on a big court and against a notorious opponent he beat on their previous two meetings, Monfils could very well play a super match. On top of that, Sunday should be cloudy and with a little rain which should slow the play condition considerably, favoring raw power and defense. How much gas will be left in the tank after three tough matches though? How will his knee feel? And, most importantly, what level of play will Federer offer on the other side of the net? Answers on Sunday.
It should be noted that of the 8 people who reached the fourth round in the bottom of the draw, 7 are in the top 16 seeds, with only the unseeded Gabashvili taking the place of grass loving Lopez. In theory, the top half should not be a lot more extravagant.
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Day 7! 3rd round top half gogogo!
DJOKOVIC vs KOKKINAKIS: Not seen. Straight forward win.
ANDERSON vs GASQUET: Gasquet had to play yesterday against Berlocq to play their fifth set and a decided frenchman sealed the deal with a clean 6-1. Against Anderson though he kinda forgot the benefits of being aggressive and for two sets he ran around 3 meters behind his base line while Anderson was dictating play with precise heavy strikes and good footwork. Gasquet managed to steal the 2nd set in the breaker and, from there, Anderson's level started to drop slowly but surely, making more and more unforced errors and at the same time, Gasquet played better and better, trying to turn defense into attack or dealing some brilliant passing shots (Anderson commendably tried to finish many points at the net, but his coverage and skill still need work). So Gasquet is through in 4 sets.
SOCK vs CORIC: Not seen, but Sock's brand of aggressive tennis was clearly too much for Coric to deal with.
NADAL vs KUZNETSOV: The young russian managed to break Nadal a couple times, but since he had big troubles holding serve, it was a very one sided affair. Kuznetsov really did not compete very well, making a lot of errors and seemingly not having any kind of game plan.
MURRAY vs KYRGIOS: Not seen, but Kyrgios had elbow problems through the match and even thought about retiring.
GOFFIN vs CHARDY: Chardy played a full match and as such was nigh unplayable.
CILIC vs MAYER: Not seen. Straight sets win for Cilic.
FERRER vs BOLELLI: From his own account, Ferrer played a poor match. He still managed to do something right though since after being 2 sets to 1 down, he let his italian opponent win just a lone game in two sets!
So: top half 4th round:
DJOKOVIC vs GASQUET: If Gasquet is not aggreesive from the first ball to the last, he stands absolutaly no chance against Djokovic.
NADAL vs SOCK: Nadal is not one to underestimate his opponents and made a point to say Sock will be dangerous. Maybe that will end in a one sided 3 sets win for the spaniard, but Sock certainly has the kind of arsenal than can hurt Nadal, is currently playing very well and don't strike me as the type of guy that might crumble under pressure. Quite the opposite: he sounds like the kind of guy that can raise to an occasion. I am curious to see how this will unfold.
MURRAY vs CHARDY: Murray's qualities as a returner and his ability to mix things up to mess with Chardy's game should make him prevail, but if Chardy plays once again like he did against Goffin, there is simply not much that the scot will be able to do.
FERRER vs CILIC: Without making much noise, Cilic reached the fourth round without dropping a set. An upset could very well be in the cards.
Fun fact: 5 of the 16 players left in the draw are frenchmen! A very rare occurence, as it happened for only the third time in the last 50ish years (if memory serves me well).
DJOKOVIC vs KOKKINAKIS: Not seen. Straight forward win.
ANDERSON vs GASQUET: Gasquet had to play yesterday against Berlocq to play their fifth set and a decided frenchman sealed the deal with a clean 6-1. Against Anderson though he kinda forgot the benefits of being aggressive and for two sets he ran around 3 meters behind his base line while Anderson was dictating play with precise heavy strikes and good footwork. Gasquet managed to steal the 2nd set in the breaker and, from there, Anderson's level started to drop slowly but surely, making more and more unforced errors and at the same time, Gasquet played better and better, trying to turn defense into attack or dealing some brilliant passing shots (Anderson commendably tried to finish many points at the net, but his coverage and skill still need work). So Gasquet is through in 4 sets.
SOCK vs CORIC: Not seen, but Sock's brand of aggressive tennis was clearly too much for Coric to deal with.
NADAL vs KUZNETSOV: The young russian managed to break Nadal a couple times, but since he had big troubles holding serve, it was a very one sided affair. Kuznetsov really did not compete very well, making a lot of errors and seemingly not having any kind of game plan.
MURRAY vs KYRGIOS: Not seen, but Kyrgios had elbow problems through the match and even thought about retiring.
GOFFIN vs CHARDY: Chardy played a full match and as such was nigh unplayable.
CILIC vs MAYER: Not seen. Straight sets win for Cilic.
FERRER vs BOLELLI: From his own account, Ferrer played a poor match. He still managed to do something right though since after being 2 sets to 1 down, he let his italian opponent win just a lone game in two sets!
So: top half 4th round:
DJOKOVIC vs GASQUET: If Gasquet is not aggreesive from the first ball to the last, he stands absolutaly no chance against Djokovic.
NADAL vs SOCK: Nadal is not one to underestimate his opponents and made a point to say Sock will be dangerous. Maybe that will end in a one sided 3 sets win for the spaniard, but Sock certainly has the kind of arsenal than can hurt Nadal, is currently playing very well and don't strike me as the type of guy that might crumble under pressure. Quite the opposite: he sounds like the kind of guy that can raise to an occasion. I am curious to see how this will unfold.
MURRAY vs CHARDY: Murray's qualities as a returner and his ability to mix things up to mess with Chardy's game should make him prevail, but if Chardy plays once again like he did against Goffin, there is simply not much that the scot will be able to do.
FERRER vs CILIC: Without making much noise, Cilic reached the fourth round without dropping a set. An upset could very well be in the cards.
Fun fact: 5 of the 16 players left in the draw are frenchmen! A very rare occurence, as it happened for only the third time in the last 50ish years (if memory serves me well).
Szlia
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Damp day at the French... the 11:00 am matches could only played a handful of games before being stopped. It's now 1:30 pm and play has yet to be resumed. As I feared a couple days ago, this "sun"day feels a bit like that day Soderling beat Federer in straight sets. In humid conditions on clay, the people able to hit the ball very hard and generate their own pace are heavily favored because just about nothing else works. It should help Wawrinka and Monfils and not be much of a factor in the Tsonga vs Berdych match (as both are lumberjacks) nor in the Nishikori vs Gabashvili match (as they are not).
Szlia
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Day 8! They wanted to play 4 WTA matches and 4 ATP matches on two main courts, but thanks to the crappy weather, 2 WTA matches were canceled (well... adjourned), and only 3 of the 4 ATP matches got completed.
Nishikori did not have to play particularly well to beat Gabashvili in straight sets, Wawrinka took full benefit from the play conditions and bombarded Simon for a sub 2h straight sets win.
Tsonga played a very focused match against an off color Berdych. The czech played a little better in the third set, just enough to benefit from Tsonga slight loss of focus when he served for the match (no first serve, a couple unforced errors, some chatter to himself and the crowd, etc). The frenchman, that insisted in press conferences that he is working hard of the mental side of the game because he feels his main problem his not really his game, but being able to perform at a high level through whole matches, was obviously very pissed off that his old demons came back at such a crucial moment and was event more pissed when Berdych forced a tie-break and won it. Suddenly, the czech who spent the better part of three sets being the aggressed became the aggressor and even was the first to break in the fourth. At this point, it really sounded like Tsonga let his chance pass and that Berdych would cruise to a five sets victory, but the frenchman managed to gather his thoughts and wrestle the match away from the czech's racket, by breaking him twice in the fourth.
It should be mentioned that the Tsonga vs Berdych match was played under a constant drizzle and with episodes of gusty wind. I guess the only up side of these terrible conditions is that the wet clay does not fly around like the dry clay does, so the wind only effected the trajectory of the ball, it was not blinding the players mid-rally with red sandstorms.
You deduced it by now, the Federer vs Monfils match got stopped mid way through at one set all. Federer had the better start, showing right out of the gate that he was willing to attack relentlessly any kind of neutral ball that Monfils would send his way. That resulted in some unforced errors, but also in a 3-0 lead in 9 minutes that the swiss did not relinquished. In the beginning of the second set, Monfils took full advantage of a poor service game by Federer, but the swiss played an amazing return game at 5-3 to stay in the set. At this point it felt the momentum would switch back to the world N?2, but the swiss missed a regulation volley to bring the score to 5-5. That costed him dearly as he missed the next two first serve, found himself in rallies and both time Monfils took his chance, first with a massive forehand down the line and second with a surprising inside out backhand that landed just in. Two clean winners that earned him the second set.
It's difficult to predict what will happen tomorrow, but at the very least the rain will be gone. It will still be cloudy and not hot, so the court should still play rather slowly, but Federer dealt pretty well with the conditions even if some sliced defensive shots checked on the surface and allowed Monfils to hit huge forehands.
Nishikori did not have to play particularly well to beat Gabashvili in straight sets, Wawrinka took full benefit from the play conditions and bombarded Simon for a sub 2h straight sets win.
Tsonga played a very focused match against an off color Berdych. The czech played a little better in the third set, just enough to benefit from Tsonga slight loss of focus when he served for the match (no first serve, a couple unforced errors, some chatter to himself and the crowd, etc). The frenchman, that insisted in press conferences that he is working hard of the mental side of the game because he feels his main problem his not really his game, but being able to perform at a high level through whole matches, was obviously very pissed off that his old demons came back at such a crucial moment and was event more pissed when Berdych forced a tie-break and won it. Suddenly, the czech who spent the better part of three sets being the aggressed became the aggressor and even was the first to break in the fourth. At this point, it really sounded like Tsonga let his chance pass and that Berdych would cruise to a five sets victory, but the frenchman managed to gather his thoughts and wrestle the match away from the czech's racket, by breaking him twice in the fourth.
It should be mentioned that the Tsonga vs Berdych match was played under a constant drizzle and with episodes of gusty wind. I guess the only up side of these terrible conditions is that the wet clay does not fly around like the dry clay does, so the wind only effected the trajectory of the ball, it was not blinding the players mid-rally with red sandstorms.
You deduced it by now, the Federer vs Monfils match got stopped mid way through at one set all. Federer had the better start, showing right out of the gate that he was willing to attack relentlessly any kind of neutral ball that Monfils would send his way. That resulted in some unforced errors, but also in a 3-0 lead in 9 minutes that the swiss did not relinquished. In the beginning of the second set, Monfils took full advantage of a poor service game by Federer, but the swiss played an amazing return game at 5-3 to stay in the set. At this point it felt the momentum would switch back to the world N?2, but the swiss missed a regulation volley to bring the score to 5-5. That costed him dearly as he missed the next two first serve, found himself in rallies and both time Monfils took his chance, first with a massive forehand down the line and second with a surprising inside out backhand that landed just in. Two clean winners that earned him the second set.
It's difficult to predict what will happen tomorrow, but at the very least the rain will be gone. It will still be cloudy and not hot, so the court should still play rather slowly, but Federer dealt pretty well with the conditions even if some sliced defensive shots checked on the surface and allowed Monfils to hit huge forehands.
Szlia
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Day 9! No rain, no 5 sets matches: 4th round is completed!
The Djokovic vs Gasquet match started strangely as it took 25 minutes to play 3 games! In a way this grueling start broke Gasquet's will. 90 minutes later, Djokovic was the victor. Exiled on court 1, Ferrer also made very light work of Cilic. Without making much noise, the spaniard fought his way to the quarter finals, but, as we know, Ferrer's curse is that he almost always beat those ranked below him and almost never beat those ranked above, so I guess we'll get exited and start talking about the resilient Ferrer if he wins his next match!
The Nadal vs Sock and Murray vs Chardy matches had somewhat similar scenario. Both underdogs started poorly, but managed to win the one good set they played (the 3rd for Sock, the 2nd for Chardy), the other three sets being plagued by unforced errors, partly of their own doing, partly because their experienced opponents managed to be the aggressor first or at least prevented them from having easy balls to attack.
Today was also the end of the Federer vs Monfils match. We left them yesterday with a duel nicely poised at one set all, the momentum with the frenchman, but expectations were not met today... at least if you expected an epic battle. Monfils was a bit lethargic and the hotter, drier conditions allowed Federer to be extremely aggressive: anything short was mercilessly punished by a venomous shot followed to the net and the few times a volley was needed, good volleys were played. Because of this pressure and maybe because of the form of the day, Monfils never could find the right balance between patience and offense: he pushed the ball around meekly and got punished or went for broke and made mostly errors. Not finding solutions, Monfils seemed at times dumbfounded, playing some absurd shots and almost throwing the match away. That did not break Federer's focus who, after an hour of play yesterday, closed the deal in an easy hour today.
Soooo we have the quarters:
DJOKOVIC vs NADAL: Seeing the draw, everyone was expecting this quarter and both players made it happen. It's tough to predict what will happen in this match. Nadal really played much better at the French so far than he did the previous few weeks (months even), but Djokovic also impressed. I guess the other six players and their fans hope it will be an epic battle lasting hours and ending with the Pyrrhic victory of one of the two 16-14 in the fifth.
MURRAY vs FERRER: Murray as yet to lose a match on clay this season, but on the other hand, he has yet to beat Ferrer on clay in his career. One of the two streak will be broken, but it's tough to guess which.
NISHIKORI vs TSONGA: Both players played a brilliant tournament up until this point, but Tsonga is certainly the more battle hardened of the two. The japanese leads the head to head 4-1, but they mostly faced each other indoor, so it's tough to see how their game will match up on clay.
FEDERER vs WAWRINKA: The head to head heavily favors Federer at 16-2, but on clay it's only 4-2. That said, they just met in Rome on Clay and Federer won very easily... if the conditions remain hot, I guess Federer is the favorite, but if clouds and rain come back, that could boost the chances of Wawrinka.
Fun stuff: If 7 of the top 8 seeds reached the quarter finals in the men's single, on the WTA side of things, only 2 of the top 8 seeds reached the same stage. Serena Williams is one, but, a bit sick this past week, she miraculously survived three matches that went the distance. The other is Ivanovic who also had to battle hard to reach this stage. It should be noted that the early disappearance of the top seeds is not the result of the women's single draw being a circus, because the 6 unexpected guest certainly did earn their spot and are all quality players, 5 of them being seeded. The only true surprise is belgian youngster Van Uytvanck (that I have yet to see play, but she "only" had to defeat the 32nd seed before the draw opened up for her).
Fun stuff 2: My home town has two of its constituents in the quarter finals of the French! Stan Wawrinka for one, but also Timea Bacsinszky. A raw talent that got burned by injuries, poor fitness and toxic surroundings (pushed to play by her father) and who left the game for a couple of years, only to come back with a new love for the game, thirst for victory and much better fitness level. As a result, she skyrocketed through the rankings, played an amazing south american clay court swing and, this past week, ousted 14th seed Keys and 4th seed Kvitova to reach her first Grand Slam quarter final. The main strength of Bacsinszky is that she has a very broad selection of shots available to her and uses the whole repertoire cleverly to mess with the mind and with the game of her opponents. Her court coverage, fighting spirit and supremely efficient inside out backhand should also be mentioned.
The Djokovic vs Gasquet match started strangely as it took 25 minutes to play 3 games! In a way this grueling start broke Gasquet's will. 90 minutes later, Djokovic was the victor. Exiled on court 1, Ferrer also made very light work of Cilic. Without making much noise, the spaniard fought his way to the quarter finals, but, as we know, Ferrer's curse is that he almost always beat those ranked below him and almost never beat those ranked above, so I guess we'll get exited and start talking about the resilient Ferrer if he wins his next match!
The Nadal vs Sock and Murray vs Chardy matches had somewhat similar scenario. Both underdogs started poorly, but managed to win the one good set they played (the 3rd for Sock, the 2nd for Chardy), the other three sets being plagued by unforced errors, partly of their own doing, partly because their experienced opponents managed to be the aggressor first or at least prevented them from having easy balls to attack.
Today was also the end of the Federer vs Monfils match. We left them yesterday with a duel nicely poised at one set all, the momentum with the frenchman, but expectations were not met today... at least if you expected an epic battle. Monfils was a bit lethargic and the hotter, drier conditions allowed Federer to be extremely aggressive: anything short was mercilessly punished by a venomous shot followed to the net and the few times a volley was needed, good volleys were played. Because of this pressure and maybe because of the form of the day, Monfils never could find the right balance between patience and offense: he pushed the ball around meekly and got punished or went for broke and made mostly errors. Not finding solutions, Monfils seemed at times dumbfounded, playing some absurd shots and almost throwing the match away. That did not break Federer's focus who, after an hour of play yesterday, closed the deal in an easy hour today.
Soooo we have the quarters:
DJOKOVIC vs NADAL: Seeing the draw, everyone was expecting this quarter and both players made it happen. It's tough to predict what will happen in this match. Nadal really played much better at the French so far than he did the previous few weeks (months even), but Djokovic also impressed. I guess the other six players and their fans hope it will be an epic battle lasting hours and ending with the Pyrrhic victory of one of the two 16-14 in the fifth.
MURRAY vs FERRER: Murray as yet to lose a match on clay this season, but on the other hand, he has yet to beat Ferrer on clay in his career. One of the two streak will be broken, but it's tough to guess which.
NISHIKORI vs TSONGA: Both players played a brilliant tournament up until this point, but Tsonga is certainly the more battle hardened of the two. The japanese leads the head to head 4-1, but they mostly faced each other indoor, so it's tough to see how their game will match up on clay.
FEDERER vs WAWRINKA: The head to head heavily favors Federer at 16-2, but on clay it's only 4-2. That said, they just met in Rome on Clay and Federer won very easily... if the conditions remain hot, I guess Federer is the favorite, but if clouds and rain come back, that could boost the chances of Wawrinka.
Fun stuff: If 7 of the top 8 seeds reached the quarter finals in the men's single, on the WTA side of things, only 2 of the top 8 seeds reached the same stage. Serena Williams is one, but, a bit sick this past week, she miraculously survived three matches that went the distance. The other is Ivanovic who also had to battle hard to reach this stage. It should be noted that the early disappearance of the top seeds is not the result of the women's single draw being a circus, because the 6 unexpected guest certainly did earn their spot and are all quality players, 5 of them being seeded. The only true surprise is belgian youngster Van Uytvanck (that I have yet to see play, but she "only" had to defeat the 32nd seed before the draw opened up for her).
Fun stuff 2: My home town has two of its constituents in the quarter finals of the French! Stan Wawrinka for one, but also Timea Bacsinszky. A raw talent that got burned by injuries, poor fitness and toxic surroundings (pushed to play by her father) and who left the game for a couple of years, only to come back with a new love for the game, thirst for victory and much better fitness level. As a result, she skyrocketed through the rankings, played an amazing south american clay court swing and, this past week, ousted 14th seed Keys and 4th seed Kvitova to reach her first Grand Slam quarter final. The main strength of Bacsinszky is that she has a very broad selection of shots available to her and uses the whole repertoire cleverly to mess with the mind and with the game of her opponents. Her court coverage, fighting spirit and supremely efficient inside out backhand should also be mentioned.
Szlia
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Day 10! No rain, some sun, not too cold... but a lot of wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiind. Yep. All matches today were plagued my heavy, irregular gusts of wind that heavily affected play. It was terrible early in the afternoon and calmed down a little as time went by, but even late in the Tsonga vs Nishikori match you had the odd point were both players were struggling to control the ball and adjust their placement. Obviously, the earlier after the bounce you take the ball, the least time you have to adjust and the more likely you are to make errors due to the conditions. Both Federer and Nishikori suffered greatly from it.
On top of the wind, Federer had to deal with the Suzanne Lenglen court, notoriously slower than the Philippe Chatrier and with the balls used at the french. In an interview after his match against Simon, Wawrinka explaided that the ball used in Roland Garros are heavier and a lot less lively than those used through the clay court season, so they don't take spin with ease and don't really go through the court if you don't muscle them. He analyzed that it would help him against Federer, because the spin variations the swiss N?1 uses would be less effective and it allows Stan The Man to defend better and to have more time to hit his huge ground strokes. On the topic of the balls, Federer mentioned that he had to slightly adapt his string tension, going a little lower to find the oompf the ball was lacking. Wind, slower court, heavier balls... that's three indicators that slightly favored Wawrinka in order for him to not experience a repeat of the spanking he took at Rome a couple weeks ago. But conditions are one thing: you still need to play the match and, boy, did Wawrinka play it! Supremely efficient behind his first serve, the underdog offered a master class of aggressive heavy hitting to safe targets, continuously asking questions for which Federer rarely had answers. The World N?2 could only dictate play and dominate Wawrinka behind good first serves, but as soon as rallies started, he could not find solutions. Since he also had a very hard time returning the Wawrinka serve without making a mistake or directly offering the initiative to Wawrinka (as he dealt brilliantly with the blocked or sliced returns that, even when deep, checked on the surface and begged to be spanked - and spanked they were), it ended up being a pretty once sided affair. Federer had small opportunities here and there, but every time Wawrinka shut the door and he kept the whole way through a very healthy winner to unforced error ratio, not ever letting his elder set his teeth into the match.
It was an even worse scenario for Nishikori against Tsonga, as the japanese player just could not find the court with his shots while Tsonga managed his own game brilliantly. The frenchman quickly found himself with a 6-1 5-1 lead as he was in truth the only player on court, when a gust of wind made some sort of large metallic panel, part of the building that oversee the Philippe Chatrier (possibly the area were the journalists are to comment the matches), fall in the crowd bellow! Three people were slightly injured and the spectators of that sector got moved away, which resulted in a 30ish minutes break in the match that totally changed its complexion. Nishikori came back with the knife between his teeth, dramatically reduced his number of unforced errors, so, suddenly, a competitive match started. The japanese could not salvage the 2nd set, but made a good statement of new intents by taking back one of the breaks and then he went on to win a close 3rd and a closer 4th set, by being tough as nails when facing break points and super opportunistic when having some of his own. By forcing a fifth set, it seemed Nishikori had done the hardest part of the work as he had won 11 of the 13 fifth sets matches he contested in his career (a stat' that really is out of this world), but Tsonga, who also has a pretty decent record in that particular exercise, shut the gates and delivered a focused and clinical performance on serve that allowed him to capitalize on an early break where a net-rushing gamble paid off.
It was pretty interesting to see the difference in reaction of Wawrinka and Tsonga after their win. Probably in part out of respect for his comrade Federer, Wawrinka delivered a very low key celebration, with barely a fist raised and some clapping toward the crowd to thank them for their support, while Tsonga fell to his knees, jumped around, wrote "I love Roland" in the clay before laying down on the center court... that felt a bit much, especially since he reaches his second semi final at the french in three years!
Anyway, that will provide us with a pretty electric semi: There is not much love between Wawrinka and Tsonga, since the frenchman said publicly he felt the swiss was mostly lucky to have won the Australian Open while better players (read: himself) never won a Grand Slam. This did not get much better in the Davis Cup Final, where the swiss played a dominant match against the (slightly injured) frenchman and some words were exchanged after the swiss victory (testosterone + alcohol...).
On top of the wind, Federer had to deal with the Suzanne Lenglen court, notoriously slower than the Philippe Chatrier and with the balls used at the french. In an interview after his match against Simon, Wawrinka explaided that the ball used in Roland Garros are heavier and a lot less lively than those used through the clay court season, so they don't take spin with ease and don't really go through the court if you don't muscle them. He analyzed that it would help him against Federer, because the spin variations the swiss N?1 uses would be less effective and it allows Stan The Man to defend better and to have more time to hit his huge ground strokes. On the topic of the balls, Federer mentioned that he had to slightly adapt his string tension, going a little lower to find the oompf the ball was lacking. Wind, slower court, heavier balls... that's three indicators that slightly favored Wawrinka in order for him to not experience a repeat of the spanking he took at Rome a couple weeks ago. But conditions are one thing: you still need to play the match and, boy, did Wawrinka play it! Supremely efficient behind his first serve, the underdog offered a master class of aggressive heavy hitting to safe targets, continuously asking questions for which Federer rarely had answers. The World N?2 could only dictate play and dominate Wawrinka behind good first serves, but as soon as rallies started, he could not find solutions. Since he also had a very hard time returning the Wawrinka serve without making a mistake or directly offering the initiative to Wawrinka (as he dealt brilliantly with the blocked or sliced returns that, even when deep, checked on the surface and begged to be spanked - and spanked they were), it ended up being a pretty once sided affair. Federer had small opportunities here and there, but every time Wawrinka shut the door and he kept the whole way through a very healthy winner to unforced error ratio, not ever letting his elder set his teeth into the match.
It was an even worse scenario for Nishikori against Tsonga, as the japanese player just could not find the court with his shots while Tsonga managed his own game brilliantly. The frenchman quickly found himself with a 6-1 5-1 lead as he was in truth the only player on court, when a gust of wind made some sort of large metallic panel, part of the building that oversee the Philippe Chatrier (possibly the area were the journalists are to comment the matches), fall in the crowd bellow! Three people were slightly injured and the spectators of that sector got moved away, which resulted in a 30ish minutes break in the match that totally changed its complexion. Nishikori came back with the knife between his teeth, dramatically reduced his number of unforced errors, so, suddenly, a competitive match started. The japanese could not salvage the 2nd set, but made a good statement of new intents by taking back one of the breaks and then he went on to win a close 3rd and a closer 4th set, by being tough as nails when facing break points and super opportunistic when having some of his own. By forcing a fifth set, it seemed Nishikori had done the hardest part of the work as he had won 11 of the 13 fifth sets matches he contested in his career (a stat' that really is out of this world), but Tsonga, who also has a pretty decent record in that particular exercise, shut the gates and delivered a focused and clinical performance on serve that allowed him to capitalize on an early break where a net-rushing gamble paid off.
It was pretty interesting to see the difference in reaction of Wawrinka and Tsonga after their win. Probably in part out of respect for his comrade Federer, Wawrinka delivered a very low key celebration, with barely a fist raised and some clapping toward the crowd to thank them for their support, while Tsonga fell to his knees, jumped around, wrote "I love Roland" in the clay before laying down on the center court... that felt a bit much, especially since he reaches his second semi final at the french in three years!
Anyway, that will provide us with a pretty electric semi: There is not much love between Wawrinka and Tsonga, since the frenchman said publicly he felt the swiss was mostly lucky to have won the Australian Open while better players (read: himself) never won a Grand Slam. This did not get much better in the Davis Cup Final, where the swiss played a dominant match against the (slightly injured) frenchman and some words were exchanged after the swiss victory (testosterone + alcohol...).
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Day 11! As our old friend Aesop would say: The mountains gave birth to mice. The top half quarters that had the potential to be very close and hard fought battles ended up being fought, but one sided. After winning a very tight first set against Ferrer, Murray opened the flood gates and would have won in straight sets if not for a little drop in level that Ferrer ceased for some rear guard action, grabbing the third from the jaws of defeat and forcing a four. Murray was not amused but reacted very well, closing the match on an emphatic 6-1. The "match of the century" (yep... that's how french sport newspaper L'Equipe dubbed the match before it took place) started with a topsy-turvy first set, Djokovic racing to a 4-0 lead, only to find himself at 4-4 minutes later. It felt like we would get a breaker, but Djokovic with a timely break prevented that. From there it was all Djokovic. Nadal fought, Nadal resisted, Nadal forced some rallies, Nadal scampered all around the Philippe Chatrier, but in the end, almost inexorably, the Word N?1 forced and error and scored a winner. When the dust settled after the serb's 7-5 6-3 6-1 he had hit 45 winners for Nadal's 15.
While Nadal losing is not a huge surprise (even if it is a statistical oddity: he now only lost two of his 72 matches at the French), a closer match was expected considering the improvement Nadal made to his game in the past few weeks. I guess many will be tempted to overreact, consider this loss the end of Nadal's career and say he will never win anything ever. I am not sure that would be wise. Let's see if he can bounce back from this loss. Let's wait and see how the rest of the season will unfold. Let's wait even until next year's clay court season to see if Nadal can reclaim his former glory or if, indeed, Nadal is no longer what he used to be. One thing is certain though: Federer's 17 Grand Slam titles felt pretty close last year with Nadal reaching the final of the AO and winning the French, but that number feels pretty damn far tonight. Another thing is certain: Nadal will drop to N?10 at the ATP.
So we have our semis:
DJOKOVIC vs MURRAY: Since Murray's splendid win at Wimbledon in 2013, both player met 7 times and Djokovic won all seven (18-8 for the serb in career). These numbers are not very comforting for Murray, but the scott really is playing well these days (in fact he has yet to lose a match on clay which is nothing short of phenomenal for him) and maybe it's interesting to face Djokovic now, after he beat Nadal. Why? Imagine being Djokovic. Your biggest goal has been for several years to win the French Open and you just bested the guy that beat you 3 times in semi finals and twice in finals. It's really really difficult to not suddenly feel the title is yours to lose and that's a whole different pressure to manage. It's not Djokovic's first rodeo though, so I doubt he will brain freeze and play a terrible match, but if Murray can keep the match close, this little additional pressure might pay dividends at the tail end of sets.
WAWRINKA vs TSONGA: 3-3 in the head to head. All very close matches except the last one where Tsonga had arm problems. Twice previously at the French and twice it went the distance. Wawrinka is now a better player than he was several years ago when these two marathons took place, but Tsonga played a very good tournament so far. The swiss might come out of the gate all guns blazing and fire a barrage of winners at Tsonga, but the opposite is also plausible. So good luck predicting that one. In any case, both players, because of their huge game, have a very real shot at winning on Sunday.
A mountain and a mouse were also on center court today, as the Williams of the Serena variety exposed almost cruelly the lack of power of diminutive italian Erani. Williams will face the marvelous Bacsinszky. We'll see if the american will be able to hit through the swiss player or if the crafty underdog will drive the World N?1 crazy. They played earlier in the year on hard court and it resulted in a reasonably close match. With it being on clay and Bacsinszky being in better shape (she had 15 wins in three weeks in her legs last time), it could be even closer. The other semi will be a duel between righty Ivanovic and lefty Safarova who both displayed great striking qualities in their matches.
While Nadal losing is not a huge surprise (even if it is a statistical oddity: he now only lost two of his 72 matches at the French), a closer match was expected considering the improvement Nadal made to his game in the past few weeks. I guess many will be tempted to overreact, consider this loss the end of Nadal's career and say he will never win anything ever. I am not sure that would be wise. Let's see if he can bounce back from this loss. Let's wait and see how the rest of the season will unfold. Let's wait even until next year's clay court season to see if Nadal can reclaim his former glory or if, indeed, Nadal is no longer what he used to be. One thing is certain though: Federer's 17 Grand Slam titles felt pretty close last year with Nadal reaching the final of the AO and winning the French, but that number feels pretty damn far tonight. Another thing is certain: Nadal will drop to N?10 at the ATP.
So we have our semis:
DJOKOVIC vs MURRAY: Since Murray's splendid win at Wimbledon in 2013, both player met 7 times and Djokovic won all seven (18-8 for the serb in career). These numbers are not very comforting for Murray, but the scott really is playing well these days (in fact he has yet to lose a match on clay which is nothing short of phenomenal for him) and maybe it's interesting to face Djokovic now, after he beat Nadal. Why? Imagine being Djokovic. Your biggest goal has been for several years to win the French Open and you just bested the guy that beat you 3 times in semi finals and twice in finals. It's really really difficult to not suddenly feel the title is yours to lose and that's a whole different pressure to manage. It's not Djokovic's first rodeo though, so I doubt he will brain freeze and play a terrible match, but if Murray can keep the match close, this little additional pressure might pay dividends at the tail end of sets.
WAWRINKA vs TSONGA: 3-3 in the head to head. All very close matches except the last one where Tsonga had arm problems. Twice previously at the French and twice it went the distance. Wawrinka is now a better player than he was several years ago when these two marathons took place, but Tsonga played a very good tournament so far. The swiss might come out of the gate all guns blazing and fire a barrage of winners at Tsonga, but the opposite is also plausible. So good luck predicting that one. In any case, both players, because of their huge game, have a very real shot at winning on Sunday.
A mountain and a mouse were also on center court today, as the Williams of the Serena variety exposed almost cruelly the lack of power of diminutive italian Erani. Williams will face the marvelous Bacsinszky. We'll see if the american will be able to hit through the swiss player or if the crafty underdog will drive the World N?1 crazy. They played earlier in the year on hard court and it resulted in a reasonably close match. With it being on clay and Bacsinszky being in better shape (she had 15 wins in three weeks in her legs last time), it could be even closer. The other semi will be a duel between righty Ivanovic and lefty Safarova who both displayed great striking qualities in their matches.